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Loisaida, Manhattan
Spanish, Neighborhoods
Loisaida Avenue is an alternative name for Avenue C between 14th Street and Houston. The name “Loisaida” is supposedly Spanglish for Lower East Side, but I haven’t been able to confirm that to my satisfaction. The area is heavily…
El Museo del Barrio
Spanish, Museums/Cultural, Kids
The mission of El Museo del Barrio is to “present and preserve the art and culture of Puerto Ricans and all Latin Americans in the United States.” In addition to its exhibitions, the museum offers festivals, special events, and bilingual…
NYC & Company Official Information Center
General, Websites, Organizations
NYC & Company’s mission is to “maximize travel and tourism opportunities throughout the five boroughs, build economic prosperity and spread the dynamic image of New York City around the world.” They have various Official Information Centers around town,…
Flatbush, Brooklyn
French, Neighborhoods
I went here one day looking for Haitian French. I found a lot of Creole. And maybe a few cuss words. It was fun to walk around, though, and one could certainly see the influence of French on business names…
Modern Language Association
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Websites, Organizations
This eminent 130-year-old organization “provides opportunities for its members to share their scholarly findings and teaching experiences with colleagues and to discuss trends in the academy.” The Modern Language Association publishes prolifically, academics congregate annually at their annual convention,…
French Institute Alliance Française
French, Museums/Cultural, Organizations, Classes/Conversation, Kids
FIAF, as it is known, is a wonderful New York City institution offering diverse cultural events and resources for Francophile New Yorkers. I have gone to a conversation event there, seen French movies, visited the library, taken a few French…
Strand Bookstore
English, French, General, Bookstores/Libraries
This independent bookstore is a fantastic place to visit for a variety of book needs. The foreign-language section is not huge, but it is there. When I inquired about the source of their non-English books, an employee told me they…
Yorkville, Manhattan
German, Neighborhoods
After the General Slocum disaster of 1904, many Little Germany residents from the Lower East Side moved to Yorkville, on the Upper East Side. Although Yorkville’s precise boundaries may be in dispute (at least according to the quick…
Idlewild Books
French, Italian, Spanish, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
This Chelsea bookstore, which opened in 2008, radiates bibliophilia. You can buy books in French, Spanish, or Italian here, and also take classes at the store in any of those three languages. The owner, David Del Vecchio, previously worked at the…